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Longmont Museum Expands Philanthropic Giving Programming

In the last two years the Longmont Museum has augmented their programming and offering to the community with the help of and through the members of the Friends of the Longmont Museum Giving Club.
Longmont Museum Tower Rooma
View from Longs Peak Tower Room – Longmont Museum (Photo By Karen Corliss/Longmont Observer)

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

In the last two years the Longmont Museum has augmented their programming and offerings to the community with the help of the members of the Friends of the Longmont Museum Giving Club.

This organization is a new philanthropic membership tier allowing members to support the Longmont Museum at a $200 or higher financial level while experiencing increased access to the inner workings of the museum. Friends Board Chairman Jennifer Henderson describes the Giving Club as an “opportunity to give on a bigger level and support the Longmont Museum directly.” 

“We are looking ahead to new ways and new opportunities to engage with the community and keep growing the museum. That appears in many ways through programming and sometimes in big building construction like the auditorium.” 

The Stewart Auditorium opened in 2015 and the Friends board helped orchestrate a $4 million capital campaign to provide the funding.

Ellen Hartman, board vice president, describes another example. “I am proud that we were able to support the staff when they needed a new piece of capital equipment. Being able to provide assistance really accelerated their work efforts. As we continue to evolve, we will get stronger with being more deliberate and strategic in charting those things out a little bit further.”

The Friends of the Longmont Museum Giving Club is a new program of the Friends Board and one of three boards integrated with the museum. The Art in Public Places board governs the exhibits and the selections for art in public places. The Longmont City board focuses on the movement of what comes in and out of the collections. And the Friends board is the charitable arm of the museum.  

Hartman describes the Friends board as working “to further the mission of the museum, help with financials through fundraising and awareness campaigns related to getting the word out in supporting the museum's efforts. The Friends' board is responsible for bringing in supplemental dollars to enable world class programming.”

As part of the Giving Club, members have access to private exhibition previews and specialized tours in advance of public openings, "not only at the Longmont Museum but in regional art studios or regional museums that are frequently lead by the curators,” according to Henderson.

Hartman recalls a preview of the World War I exhibit where there was early access at the opening with a guided tour from the curator allowing Giving Club members to ask questions and understand the deeper connection to Longmont.

Hartman noted an unexpected by-product of the Giving Club is deeper conversations and interactions that gravitate to a more intimate relationship with the curated subject matter. "That was a surprise. And those were really meaningful conversations.”

The combination of public and private funding allows the Longmont Museum to offer the community access to the museum at all levels, including free access to the permanent exhibition Front Range Rising on the museum’s main level and the Longs Peak Room Tower during museum open hours. 

The additional funding through the Giving Club helps the Longmont Museum can continue to operate and serve the community in multiple ways.

The Longmont Museum Giving Club is excited that Longmont is a growing community and sees it as an opportunity to help the Longmont Museum share all it has to offer with the growing audience.